Black Knight
by RossPoldark
Summary: "You never doubted I was telling the truth," his dark voice suddenly chimed out right next to her ear. She flinched slightly and a second later her whole body froze. She didn't dare turn around for she felt the tip of an ice-cold sword on her back. "How naive of you." [SasuSaku AU Chapter 2 extract]


_Hi!_

_As Hidden Desire's first chapter was well received I thought I'd start translating another of my stories._

_But please be patient because neither of them are finished yet. I'll do my best, though!_

_This one's set in a world similar to the Middle Ages, but different still. You'll see and hopefully like it._

_Enjoy._

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**Prologue**

I gazed through the window, down to the yard, and leaned my face sidewards against the cold glass. There was not a soul outside. A couple of birds, searching the large compound for food to give to their chicks, were the only living thing on our lands.

Sighing, I let my gaze wander towards the distant rows of trees. I couldn't quite let go of my hopes yet, but they decreased with each passing day. My heart felt heavy in my chest as I hesitantly turned away from the window after a while and laid on the bed which was way too big and way, _way _too empty.

My fingers grazed the left side while I placed my head on the pillow and fell into some kind of trance, encompassed in a sad atmosphere. Until I was pulled out of my memories by a loud crash. Familiar wailing sounds echoed off the walls and fell on my ears.

Startled, I threw off the blanket and almost fell out of the bed. Only then I realised the day was already dawning. "Sarada?" I called out worriedly, but there was no answer. Half blind I stumbled through the rooms, following the crying voice, and finally found my daughter sitting in the middle of the nursery. Tears were streaming down her face, but the wailing stopped when she spotted me.

"What's wrong, my child?" I knelt before her and checked if there were any wounds. When I saw the bloodied knee I kissed her briefly on the forehead. "I'll be right back, I promise." I got bandages and started to clean the wound. Meanwhile, I darted a glance at Sarada, half sternly and half anxious. "What happened?"

Sarada sniffled. "I tried to learn how to fight." She rubbed her reddened eyes and turned to the side, abashedly. The sight of her was heart-wrenching, so I couldn't bring myself to be too harsh.

But then, to my horror, I spotted the sword laying a little bit further on the floor. "Good heavens! That's dangerous, sweetie! Where on earth did you get that?" I stood up, lifting the sword and examining it with mixed feelings. A long time ago it had belonged to her father, and I hadn't been prepared to be so suddenly reminded of past moments which had made me experience all kinds of emotions.

Sarada bit her lower lip and shook her head vehemently. "I mustn't tell or else he'll be in trouble!"

I sighed deeply, but didn't question her any further because I could pretty much guess who was the mastermind behind this stupid idea. "And why did you want to learn how to fight?" That, too, was quite obvious, but I wanted to hear it from her. I wanted her to talk to me about it.

"So that Papa would be proud of me…" Black, wet saucer eyes looked up at me, and the sight of it as well as her innocent words felt like daggers in my chest. She looked so much like her father, I had to swallow hard not to lose my composure, too.

I looked at her with saddened eyes as I knelt again before her and took my daughter's hand into mine. I only knew too well how she felt, even if my pain was somewhat different than hers. "He already is. He'd be very worried if you got hurt because of him. Promise me to let go of such dangerous ideas."

Her small lips started to tremble slightly. Sarada seldomly ever cried. By nature, she was a strong and level-headed person, much like her father. "Mama… When is Papa going to come back?"

Even though I desperately tried to force a smile on my lips, my eyes glinted treacherously, while I searched for an answer to the question I asked myself each day. I led Sarada to the bed on which we made ourselves comfortable. I stroked her hair softly while thinking. "You know what? Why don't I tell you a story. Maybe you'll understand me better afterwards," I finally suggested and took a deep breath, hoping I could make it to the end safely.


End file.
